Yves Jabouin hitting stride just in time for Brad Pickett fight at UFC on FUEL TV 5

Yves Jabouin is close. He’s real close. But so is Brad Pickett, and Jabouin knows it.

Jabouin (16-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Pickett (21-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) meet on the main card of UFC on FUEL TV 5 later this month in Pickett’s home country of England. And Jabouin thinks each of them is knocking on the door of the bantamweight title mix.

“I would say we’re getting close to (a title shot),” Jabouin on Wednesday told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “The 135-pound division has a lot of tough competitors, and me and Brad Pickett are out to show we’re coming. Don’t overlook us, because we’re two top competitors and we’re coming after it.”

UFC on FUEL TV 5 takes place Sept. 29 at Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England. It will be the UFC’s 11th trip to England, but first to Nottingham. The card is headlined by a heavyweight bout between Stefan Struve and Stipe Miocic.

The only thing separating Jabouin from a five-fight win streak is one of the slicker submissions of all 2011. At UFC 129 in Toronto, Pablo Garza threw up a brilliant flying triangle choke in the first fight of the night in front of 55,000 fans at Rogers Centre – and the resulting tapout held up to pocket Garza an extra $129,000 for “Submission of the Night.”

Aside from that loss in his UFC debut, it’s been a nice run for Jabouin since coming over from the WEC, where he was 1-2. He’s picked up three straight decision wins over Ian Loveland, Walel Watson and, most recently, Jeff Hougland at UFC on FUEL TV 3.

But just because Jabouin doesn’t have flashy victories on his UFC resume doesn’t mean he’s overly concerned with trying to knock people out like he was prone to doing before he signed with Zuffa – when 11 of his first 14 wins came by knockout and another by submission.

“You want to try to finish, but you’re fighting the toughest, best fighters in the world,” he said. “You want to finish, but when you don’t, you still have to realize this is the UFC, not some other (smaller) promotion.”

Besides, Jabouin said – maybe quick finishes are overrated if you have a couple of fighters who aren’t afraid to bang it out for 15 minutes.

“When a fight goes to a decision, it’s like going to the buffet,” Jabouin said. “You get more for your money. It’s not like a 10-second knockout – when you get the entree and it’s over.”

Jabouin believes he’s starting to hit his stride. The Haitian-born Canadian, who trains with Firas Zahabi at Tristar Gym in Montreal said the three straight wins prove he’s improving as a fighter.

He just wants a win over Pickett, which arguably would be the biggest of his career, to prove it.

“This definitely (is the best I’ve been),” Jabouin said. “I’ve been working so hard in the gym trying to get better, trying to put many more weapons in my arsenal. I think it’s showing that I’ve been working extra hard. With the three-win streak, I think I’m definitely finding my range.”

Pickett, though, certainly is no slouch. The Brit went 3-1 in the WEC before the UFC merger. Once in the big show, he’s 1-1. But his two losses in the past five years and change – against 11 victories – have come against current interim bantamweight champ Renan Barao at UFC 138 and former title challenger Scott Jorgensen at WEC 50, a win that got “Young Guns” his shot at Dominick Cruz’s belt.

Jabouin knows Pickett is a tough customer, and he thinks the combination of the two of them could have a big payoff for fans not just at Capital FM Arena, but on FUEL TV.

“To me, Brad Picket is a tremendous athlete,” he said. “He’s been showing dangerous hands, beautiful clean takedowns, beautiful ground-and-pound. He’s a very well-rounded fighter and shows a lot of heart. He comes out to fight – my kind of guy.

“He’s very similar to what I bring out there, so I think it’s going to be fireworks.”

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